IMPORTANT NOTE

This is a preliminary version of a translation of John Ray's Methodus Plantarum Nova. Any publication or reduplication of this material without express written permission of the translators is forbidden.

That said, please feel free to make any appropriate use of the material provided under the fair use for education stipulation of copyright law.

The translation of this text is made possible by the generosity of Linda Fitzgerald

To contact the authors of the translation, write to: nimissa@muohio.edu

The files below are in downloadable Portable Document Format (pdf) but I notice the Greek is not coming up correct

Last updated: 8/28/2007 I have finished a complete revision. Reports of errors would be appreciated

Methodus Plantarum Nova

of

John Ray, M.D.

of the Royal Society

Presented in synoptic tables for brevity and clarity;

with characteristic traits of the highest and subaltern genera, some observations on the seeds of plants, and an index

London: 1682

Translated by

Stephen Nimis, Kathleen Tschantz and Michael Vincent

Miami University (Ohio)

A list of people to whom Ray refers in the Methodus

Letter to Charles Hatton

Preface to the Reader

Charactersitic Traits of the Higher Genera

A New Division of Herbs into Three Genera with Three Tables

Section 1: Some General Observations about the Seeds of Plants

Section 2. The Leaves called Seminal Leaves

Section 3: The Seedling and the Rest of the Things Contained in the Seed

Section 4: Flowers, their Parts and Differences

Section 5. A General Division of Plants into Trees, Bushes, Shrubs and Herbs.

Section 1: Trees: General Division

• Table 1: Fruit-bearing Trees (Pomiferae)
• Table 2: Prune-bearing Trees (Pruniferae)
• Table 3: Berry-bearing Trees (Bacciferae)
• Table 4: Nut-bearing Trees (Nuciferae)
• Table 5: Coniferous Trees (Coniferae)
• Table 6: Lanigerae
• Table 7: Siliquosae
• Table 8: Anomalous Trees

Section 2: Shrubs: General Division

• Table 1: Evergreen Berry-bearing shrubs
• Table 2: Berry-bearing shrubs with deciduous leaves
• Table 3: Berry-bearing shrubs with deciduous spiny leaves
• Table 4: Shrubs with naked seeds
• Table 5: Shrubs with Papilionaceous Flowers
• Table 6: Shrub-like Herbs

Section 3: Herbs: General Division

• Table 1: Imperfect Plants
• Table 2: Herbs with Very Small Seeds
• Table 3: Herbs with No Stalk
• Table 4: Herbs with an Imperfect Flower
• Table 5: Herbs with an Imperfect Flower, Lacking Sex
• Table 6: Monosperm Herbs with an Imperfect Flower

Section 4: Herbs with a composite flower

• Table 7: Herbs with a Composite Flower
• Table 8: Woolly herbs with a disk-like flower
• Table 9: Wooly herbs with a naked disk-like flower
• Table 10: Corymbiferae
• Table 11: Corymbiferae with a naked disk-like flower
• Table 12: Capitatae
• Table 13: Anomalous Herbs with a composite flower
• Table 14: Herbs with a complete flower, with solitary naked seeds
• Table 15: Umbelliferae
• Table 16: Umbelliferae herbs with a seed fatter and less compressed
• Table 17: Stellatae
• Table 18: Asperfoliae
• Table 19: Bushy Verticillatae
• Table 20: Herbaceous Verticillatae
• Table 21: Polysperm herbs with a naked seed
• Table 22: Polysperm herbs with a naked seed and flower
• Table 23: Fruit-bearing herbs
• Table 24: Herbs bearing berries
• Table 25: Plants with many pods or horned

Section 5: Herbs whose seeds are endowed with receptacles dry at maturation

• Table 26: Herbs with a monopetal uniform flower
• Table 27: Herbs with a monopetal irregular flower

Monopetal herbs classified according to their seminal vessel

• Table 28: Herbs with a double capsule and a monopetal flower
• Herbs with three or more capsules and with a monopetal flower

Tetrapetal Herbs with an irregular flower

• Table 29: Siliquose herbs with a tetrapetal flower
• Table 30: Siliquose herbs with a tetrapetal flower, with a roundish or spherical seed
• Table 31: Herbs with a uniform tetrapetal flower
• Table 32: Anomalous Herbs with a uniform tetrapetal flower

Section 6: Herbs with a papilionaceous flower

• Table 33: Climbing herbs with a papilionaceous flower
• Table 34; Erect Herbs with a papilionaceous flower

Herbs with a papilionaceous flower with jointed pods

• Table 35: Herbs with a papilionaceous flower, with twin pods
• Table 36: Three-leaved herbs with a papilionaceous flower
• Table 37: Herbs with a pentapetal or polypetal flower with connected leaves
• Table 38: Herbs with a pentapetal or polypetal flower with leaves in no order
• Table 39: Anomalous Herbs with a pentapetal-like flower
• Table 40: Culm-bearing herbs
• Table 41: Culm-bearing herbs with a smaller kernel
• Table 42: Grass-leaved herbs that are not culm-bearing

Herbs endowed with a bulbous root

• Table 43: Strong-smelling herbs with a bulbous root
• Table 44: Herbs with a bulbous root with no odor
• Table 45: Herbs with a tunicated bulbous root
• Table 46: Herbs related to the Bulbosae in leaves, flowers, pericarps or roots
• Table 47: Anomalous and sui generis Herbs

Synopsis of the Method of Andreas Caesalpinus in arranging bushes and herbs

Table of Herbs and Shrubs as divided by Caesalpinus

Index

Addenda